"Biggest Loser" Bracketology: Who advanced past the first round?

Jen Wielgus @jenwielgus

Tuesday

Mar 27, 2012 at 12:01 AMMar 27, 2012 at 7:00 AM

On a much smaller and less relevant scale, I know how the members of the NCAA Selection Committee must feel every year when they sit down to assign at-large bids and seeds for the basketball tournament.

They know they're going to tick people off, no matter what they do.

I didn't realize what I was getting into when I wrote last Thursday's "Biggest Loser" Bracketology post and vowed to whittle my chosen field of 32 current and former contestants down to one grand champion. I've had the pleasure of meeting some of these people in person, and interviewing many others over the phone. I certainly don't want to offend any of them.

At the same time, if you're truly offended by make-believe March Madness on some nobody's silly little blog, well...enough said.

Thanks to all who sent in their picks for the first-round "games." Thanks in advance to all who save their complaints regarding these results.

ROUND OF 16

(32) Emily, Season 13 vs. (1) Courtney, Season 11 -- (1) COURTNEY vs.

(17) Daniel, Season 8 vs. (16) Sione, Season 7 -- (16) SIONE.

Tough one, but I would have to be in a pretty dark mood to go against Little Miss Sunshine. And the very honest Sione is one of my favorite interview subjects.

(31) Jerry, Season 7 vs. (2) Sam, Season 9 -- (31) JERRY vs.

(18) Jay, Season 11 vs. (15) Jesse, Season 10 -- (18) JAY.

Stop booing! You ever hear of the phrase "age before beauty"? I've been contemplating that a lot as I near my 34th birthday and occasionally catch glimpses of myself in the mirror.

I only hope this battle doesn't leave either of these old dears too tuckered out to fight on to the next round. Better drink an extra Starbucks, Jay!

(30) Cassandra, Season 13 vs. (3) Danny, Season 8 -- (3) DANNY vs.

(19) Marci, Season 11 vs. (14) Erik, Season 3 -- (19) MARCI.

Goodness! That one was tough, too. I'm actually sweating here!

(29) Brittany, Season 5 vs. (4) Hannah, Season 11 -- (4) HANNAH vs.

(20) Pete, Season 2 vs. (13) Nicole, Season 4 -- (4) NICOLE.

Brittany and Pete are both great, but, come on. Hannah is Hannah. And I think I'm supposed to have dinner with Nicole, a radio celebrity right here in Philly, next week. You know what they say: Flattery is the sincerest form of trying to get someone else to pick up the tab.

(28) Amy C., Season 6 vs. (5) Shay, Season 8 -- (5) SHAY vs.

(21) Abby, Season 8 vs. (12) Matt, Season 2 -- (21) ABBY.

Uh oh. Potential BFF break-up in the works! My money is on the CrossFitter.

(27) Mike M., Season 7 vs. (6) Irene, Season 11 -- (6) IRENE vs.

(22) Ali, Season 5 vs. (11) O'Neal, Season 9 -- (11) O'NEAL.

You might think there's some kind of personal bias at work here, but I just went with the folks who tend to spout the most entertaining quotes. After all, I do have a journalism degree collecting dust somewhere in my parents' house.

O.K., so I'll cop to two biases: Season 11 and Chicago. Even though I have a soft spot in my heart for Season 12 and for Ada, I owe whatever modest success this blog has achieved to the initial (and in some cases, enduring) support of the Season 11 cast. As for Mike, he's from the northern suburbs of Chicago and likes the Cubs. Case closed.

(25) Jen J., Season 11 vs. (8) Bernie, Season 5 -- (8) BERNIE vs.

(24) Hollie, Season 4 vs. (9) Tara, Season 7 -- (9) TARA.

Did I mention the Chicago bias trumps all? Jen's going to kill me. But my homie Bernie is not only a Cubs fan, he freely admits that cookies make him dance! And while I respect Hollie very much, Tara's performance on the show ratcheted my "Biggest Loser" interest level up from "fan" to "blogger." Which, honestly, could be considered a reason NOT to pick her. Hmm. Oh well. I already typed her name and I'm too wiped out to go back and change it.

We're going to end this "tournament" and "cut down the nets" on Thursday. Be sure to "place your bets." I need to go "do the rest of my work" now.

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